S AND REGULATIONS 

(i<>\ I ! VING LEAVES OF ABSENCE 



IN THE 



DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 



EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 1919 




WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1919 



79W-19 



LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
GOVERNING LEAVES OF ABSENCE 



IN THE 



i s DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 



EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 1919 




WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1919 



7964—1- 






0. of 3. 



The following regulations, consistent with the laws printed herein 
providing for the hours of labor and leaves of absence of employees 
in the executive departments, are hereby published for the informa- 
tion of all concerned, effective July 1, 1919. 

They shall apply as well to attorneys, chiefs of divisions, and other 
supervising officials as to the clerical force and other employees, and 
officials will be held strictly accountable for their enforcement. 

These regulations shall be applied as far as practicable to the field 
service in connection with this department outside of Washington, 
D. C. 

Any regulations of this department heretofore issued inconsistent 
with these are hereby revoked. 

The chief clerk shall report in writing to the Attorney General 
instances of the refusal of employees to comply with the rules herein 
promulgated. 

A. Mitchell Palmer, 

Attorney General. 

(3) 



OFFICE HOURS. 

(1) Office and lunch hours: 

The hours of service, unless otherwise especially ordered, begin 
at 9 o'clock a. m. and close at 4.30 o'clock p. m., with one-half hour 
for luncheon, the particular half hour to be designated by the chiefs 
of the different divisions. 

(2) Lunch hours varied: 

In the interest of the service, so that all the clerks in important 
rooms shall not be absent at the same time, chiefs of divisions may 
vary the time for luncheon of certain employees. 

(3) Tardiness to be reported: 

Tardy arrival for duty, premature cessation of work, or absence 
during office hours shall be reported to the chief clerk by the heads 
of the several bureaus, offices, and divisions, and shall be charged as 
annual leave unless this leave is exhausted, then as leave without 
pay. Reduction in grade and pay will follow habitual absence from 
duty due to the causes herein mentioned. 

(4) Penalties for evasion: * 

Evasion of the laws or taking undue advantage of the regulations 
covering leave of absence or attempts to avoid being charged with 
absence from duty during office hours will be dealt with severely. 

(5) Time reports: 

In divisions where deemed necessary a record shall be kept of the 
arrivals, departures, and absences of all employees connected there- 
with. Accuracy should be observed in noting arrivals, departures, 
and absences during the day, instead of a perfunctory notation of the 
hours. At the beginning of each week the records of the preceding 
week shall be sent to the chief clerk for verification of the leave 
granted and for posting the absences on the records. 

NEW, TEMPORARY, AND PER DIEM EMPLOYEES. 

(6) New employees : 

Regular employees who have been in the department less than a 
year, including those reinstated, except those appointed by transfer 
from other departments, may be granted annual leave of absence at 
the rate of two and one-half days for each month of service, and 
sick leave at the same rate. 

(5) 



(7) Transferred employees : 

Persons transferred from another department or from one division 
or office to another within this department will be charged with the 
leave taken in the current }^ear prior to such transfer. Certificates 
of leave granted by their former departments will be required. 

(8) Absence certificates on transfer: 

Employees transferred from this department to another will, upon 
request, be given certificates showing their annual and sick leave 
during the current year to date of transfer. 

(9) Per diem employees: 

Per diem employees shall not be granted leave with pay if their 
appointments state " salary when actually employed." If per diem 
rate is simply a measure of salary and they are regularly and con- 
tinuously employed without limitation, they are entitled to leave 
the same as those with annual or monthly rates of salary. 

(10) Temporary employees: 

Temporary employees will not be allowed annual leave with pay 
during the first two months of service. They may, in meritorious 
cases, be allowed accrued sick leave. 

GENERAL. 

(11) Leave, when not to be granted: 

In no case shall officers or chiefs of divisions recommend or allow 
leave of absence when to grant it will cause embarrassment to the 
service. 

(12) Leave revocable : 

Leave of absence may be revoked at any time and the employee 
ordered to return to duty before its expiration should the exigencies 
of the service render such action necessary. 

(13) Only accrued leave allowed on resignation, etc.: 

On separation from the department by resignation, dismissal, or 
transfer employees may be allowed only accrued annual leave at the 
rate of two and one-half days for each month of service since the 
first of the calendar year ; but more than this may be granted (within 
the legal limit) when separation occurs after the middle of the year 
if the employee has served five or more years. 



(14) Allowance of leavi confined to current year: 

Leave is not cumulative. Employees who are prevented by the 
requirements of the service, or otherwise, from availing themselves 
of the regular annual leave will not be entitled to it or any portion 
thereof in a subsequent year. 

(15) Sundays, holidays, half holidays: 

Sundays and legal holidays and holidays by Executive order will 
not be counted except in leave without pay. (See rule 37.) 

(1(>) Saturday afternoons in summer: 

Saturdays from June 15 to September 15 will be charged as four 
hours in annual and sick leave and as whole days in leave without 
pay. 

(IT) Presidential appointees : 

While presidential appointees are not held to be subject to the 
law granting to Government employees 30 days' leave of absence 
each year, yet it is desired that this be not exceeded without the 
approval of the head of the department. 

ANNUAL LEAVE. 

(18) Applications in advance: 

Applications for leave of absence must be made in advance of the 
beginning of the leave and will be forwarded to the chief clerk of 
the department on the form provided for that purpose, approved 
by the proper officer or chief of division. Leave of absence must 
not be allowed to any employee until the application has been ap- 
proved by the chief clerk. 

(19) Credit for leave not taken: 

When specific leave has been granted, and for any reason a per- 
son to whom such leave has been granted returns to duty before the 
expiration thereof, no credit will be given for the time not taken 
unless written request is made at once upon return to duty. 

(20) How leave m,ay be taken: 

Leave of absence not to exceed 30 days (exclusive of Sundays and 
legal holidays) in any one calendar year may be granted as follows : 

At any time during the months of January, February. March, 
April. May. or June, for any number of days which does not exceed 
the number of days accrued (at the rate of two and one-half days 
per month) and unused at the date of request for leave: Provided, 



8 

That in special cases, where the application is accompanied by a 
written statement by the administrative officer in charge giving good 
and sufficient reasons therefor, these restrictions may be waived. 

At any time after July 1 in any calendar year the full 30 days 
may be granted, or such portion thereof as may be due. 

( See modification of this rule, effective during period of war, p. 13.) 

SICK LEAVE. 

(21) Physician's certificate: 

A physician's certificate will not be deemed satisfactory unless it 
shows that he personally attended the employee, the date or dates 
of attendance, the place of attendance, the duration of the illness, 
and that the employee was actually physically disabled for the per- 
formance of official duties. 

(22) Without physician's certificate: 

In case no physician was in attendance, the employee must make 
affidavit that the absence was due entirely to personal illness, and 
that he or she was wholly unable to perform official work. Periods 
not exceeding 3 days may be granted on affidavit; the aggregate of 
such sick leave during the year, however, not to exceed 12 days. 

If in excess of this it will be charged as annual leave or leave 
without pay. 

(23) Slight ailments: 

Slight ailments or indisposition will not be accepted as sufficient 
cause for allowing sick leave. Such absences should be charged to 
annual leave. 

(24) Absentees must report fact promptly : 

An employee absent on account of personal illness must report the 
fact to the chief of the division in which employed as promptly as 
possible, otherwise the time lost may be charged to annual leave or 
leave without pay. 

(25) Application must be made ivithin three days: 
Application for sick leave must be made within three days after 

the return of the employee to duty. 

(26) Reports in protracted illness: 

When absence by illness is protracted, reports should be sent to 
the chief of division at intervals of 10 days, if possible, as to em- 
ployee's condition and probable return to duty. 



(27) Quarantine: 

AVhen an employee has been exposed to a contagious disease for 
which the medical authorities quarantine the patient, he should imme- 
diately file with the chief of the division in which employed a 
certificate from the attending physician or proper health authority 
stating that in his judgment the presence of the employee in the 
office would jeopardize the health of fellow clerks and report to the 
division in which he be employed at intervals of not more than 10 
days as to his probable return to duty. Application for leave with 
pay for the time lost must be accompanied by a certificate from the 
health office showing that a case of contagion existed on the premises 
during the time covered by the application, and the attending physi- 
cian must certify that all danger from contagion has passed. 

(28) Xot less than one-half day granted: 

Sick leave will not be granted or charged on time report for less 
than one-half day for each absence of a half da} T or fraction thereof, 
but actual time will be charged for absence in excess of one-half 
day. 

( 2 9 ) Xot gra n ted in ad vance : 

Sick leave will not be granted in advance. 

(30) Dentist or oculist: 

Absence for the purpose of being treated professionally by a 
dentist or oculist at his office is not allowable as sick leave, but this 
is not intended to disallow sick leave for detention at home by 
illness or disability due to causes as to which a dentist or oculist is 
qualified to certify. 

(31) Sundays and holidays: 

Sundays, holidays, and half holidays will not be charged. 

(32) Inspection of records forbidden: 

Records of annual and sick leaves are not open to inspection by 
employees. 

(33) Penalties for deception: 

All employees will be held to a strict accountability for statements 
made by them for inability to perform duty when sick leave has 
been granted, and should subsequent developments prove that it was 
obtained by misrepresentation it will be charged to leave without 
pay, even if the offender has annual leave still due. A second 
attempt to mislead or deceive officials, directly or indirectly, in regard 
to absence on account of alleged sickness will be deemed sufficient 
cause for dismissal. 



10 

(34) Modifying annual leave to sick leave: 

When a person to whom a specific leave of absence has been 
granted becomes incapacitated by illness during the period covered 
by such leave, and asks that the time of such sickness be not charged 
to annual leave, but be treated as sick leave, this will be done only 
when the request is made at the time, supported by a medical cer- 
tificate. 

LEAVE WITHOUT PAY. 

(35) Leave without pay is a favor which may be granted only 
when in the opinion of the head of the office or division the public 
business will not suffer by the absence and when reasonable cause 
is shown. 

(36) Deduction of pay for absence in excess of legal limit: 
Absence of employees in excess of the legal allowance with pay 

must be covered by an application for leave of absence without pay 
for one-half day or more. 

(37) Sundays and holidays: 

Sundays, holidays, and half holidays occurring at any time except 
at the beginning of a period of leave without pay will be charged. 

(38) A proportionate deduction from the annual allowance of 
leave will be made in the case of a person absent without pay for 
more than one month. 

An employee who is absent at the end of a year without pay, and 
who continues absent at the beginning of the next year, will not be 
allowed annual or sick leave on the new year's allowance until return 
to duty for an aggregate of 30 days, and thereafter leave will be 
computed from the date of return to duty. 

ABSENCE WITHOUT LEAVE. 

(39) Employees absent without first obtaining leave and not sick 
or quarantined may be subject to the enforcement of leave without 
pay, and a repetition of the offense may be deemed good ground for 
dismissal. 

COURT LEAVE. 

(40) Subpoenaed employees and Government witnesses: 

Employees who have been subpoenaed to attend court will be al- 
lowed special leave of absence with pay when serving as witnesses 
for the Government; otherwise such absence will b? charged to an- 
nual leave or leave without pay. (See sec. 850, R. S.) 



II 

(41) Official business at court: 

Attendance at court for official business- connected with the em- 
ployee's usual departmental duties and time required in going and 
returning is not considered absence from duty. 

MILITARY LEAVE. 

(42) Application for military leave must be supported by the 
certificate of a competent officer of the District Xational Guard. 
The act approved June 3. 1916 (Public, No. 85), provides: 

Sec. 80. All officers and employees of the United States and of the District of 
Columbia who shall be members of the National Guard shall be entitled to 
leave of absence from their respective duties, without loss of pay, tim$, or 
efficiency rating, on all' days during which they shall be engaged in field or 
coast-defense training ordered or authorized under the provisions of this act. 

EXECUTIVE ORDERS. 

(No. 1076.) 

It is hereby ordered that all officers of the Government, arsenals, 
navy yards and stations, and other Government establishments shall, 
when the 1st day of January, the 22d day of February, the 30th day 
of May, the 4th day of July, and the 25th day of December fall on 
the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, be closed to public 
business on the following Monday, and that all employees in the 
public service, wherever employed, who would be excused from work 
on the above-named days be excused on the following Monday when 
said days fall on the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, 
excepting that where a State law fixes for a holiday another day than 
the Monday following such legal holiday the Government offices and 
other Government establishments situated in such States shall close 
and employees in the public service shall be excused on that day 
which is in conformitv to State law. 

Wm. H. Taft. 

The White House, May 22, 1909. 

It is hereby ordered that from June 15 to September 15 of each 
year, until further notice, four hours, exclusive of time for luncheon, 
shall constitute a day's work on Saturdays for all clerks and other 
employees of the Federal Government wherever employed, and all 
Executive or other orders in conflict herewith, except the Executive 
order of April 4, 1908, relating to certain naval stations, are hereby 
revoked : Provided, however, That this order shall not apply to any 
bureau or office of the Government, or to any of the clerks or other 
employees thereof, that may for special public reasons be excepted 
therefrom by the head of the department having supervision or con- 



12 

trol of such bureau or office, or where the same would be inconsistent 
with the provisions of existing law. 

Woodrow Wilson. 
The White House, Jime 9, 1914- 

LAWS, ORDERS, AND DECISIONS. 

EMPLOYEES OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON. 

A clerk or other employee of an executive department of the Gov- 
ernment whose duties are performed at a place other than the seat 
of government is as much entitled to the benefits of the act of March 
15, 1898, with reference to leaves of absence, as one whose duties 
are performed in the city of Washington. (Decision of the Attorney 
General, May 11, 1898, vol. 22, pp. 77 to 82.) 

LAWS AUTHORIZING LEAVES OF ABSENCE. 

The act of March 15, 1898 (30 Stat., 316), provides that: 

* * * Hereafter it shall be the duty of the heads of the several executive 
departments, in the interest of the public service, to require of all clerks and 
other employees of whatever grade or class, in their respective departments, 
not less than seven hours of labor each day, except Sundays and days declared 
public holidays by law or Executive order : Provided, That the heads of the de- 
partments may, by special order, stating the reason, further extend the hours 
of any clerk or employee in their departments, respectively; but in case of an 
extension it shall be without additional compensation: Provided further, That 
the head of any department may grant thirty days' annual leave with pay in 
any one year to each clerk or employee: And provided further, That where 
some member of the immediate family of a clerk or employee is afflicted with a 
contagious disease and requires the care and attendance of such employee, or 
where his or her presence in the department would jeopardize the health of 
fellow clerks, and in exceptional and meritorious cases, where a clerk or em- 
ployee is personally ill, and where to limit the annual leave to thiry days in 
any one calendar year would work peculiar hardship, it may be extended, in 
the discretion of the head of the department, with pay, not exceeding thirty 
days in any one case or in any one calendar year. 

This section shall be construed to mean that so long as a clerk or employee 
is borne upon the rolls of the department in excess of the time herein provided 
for or granted that he or she shall be entitled to pay during the period of such 
excessive absence, but that the pay shall be stopped upon the expiration of the 
granted leave. 

The act of July 7, 1898 (30 Stat., 863), provides that: 

* * * Nothing contained in section seven of the act making appropriations 
for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of the Government for the 
fiscal year eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, approved March fifteenth, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-eight, shall be construed to prevent the head of any execu- 
tive department from granting thirty days' annual leave with pay in any one 
year to a clerk or employee, notwithstanding such clerk or employee may have 
had during such year not exceeding thirty days' leave with pay on account of 
sickness, as provided in said section seven. 



13 

The act of February 24, 1899 (30 Stat., 890), provides: 

* * * Thar the thirty days' annual leave of absence with pay in any one 
year to clerks and employees in the several executive departments authorized 
by existing law shall be exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays. 

The act of March 1, 1889 (25 Stat., TT9), providing for the organi- 
zation of the militia of the District of Columbia, provides: 

Sec. 49. That all officers and employees of the United States and of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia who are members of the National Guard shall be entitled to 
leave of absence from their respective duties, without loss of pay or time, on 
all days of any parade or encampment ordered or authorized under the pro- 
visions of this act. 

By the act of Juh T 1, 1902 (32 Stat., 615), the foregoing section is 
construed to cover all days of service which the National Guard, or 
any portion thereof, may be ordered to perform by the commanding 
general. 

Department of Justice, 
Washington, D. C, July 1, 1919. 

Circular No. 844- 
(Reissue.) 
To employees : 

By direction of the Attorney General the order of December 3, 
1917. limiting leave of absence to one day at a time, is hereby sus- 
pended. Annual leave will be granted to employees from this date 
for not exceeding 11 days at a time, at such intervals as they can 
be spared by their respective heads of divisions. This will enable 
employees to be absent for two consecutive weeks, including Satur- 
day half holidays, and to take advantage of the Sundays intervening. 
Eleven-day periods of leave may be extended at the expiration 
thereof, upon application, if conditions warrant. 

The attention of employees is again called to the Attorney Gen- 
eral's order that leave must not be taken until it has been approved 
by the chief clerk. 
Respectfully, 

C. E. Stew t art, Chief Clerk. 

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